Oakland Athletics Jason Giambi runs down to first base after grownding out during the A's first Spring Training game with the Milwaukee Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix Arizona Wednesday, February 25, 2009.

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

Oakland Athletics Jason Giambi runs down to first base after...

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Johnson warms up during the first full day of Spring Training workouts at Scottsdale Stadium Sunday February 15, 2009 in Scottsdale Arizona

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Johnson warms up during the...

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Chronicle columnist, John Shea, stands for a photograph inside the studio on Tuesday Jan. 27, 2008 in San Francisco,Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Chronicle columnist, John Shea, stands for a photograph inside the...

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Johnson warms up during the first full day of Spring Training workouts at Scottsdale Stadium Sunday February 15, 2009 in Scottsdale Arizona.

Two old-timers are back in the Bay Area, their hair down and their spirits up. The scruffy look is OK again now that they're ex-Yankees and in a more relaxed setting. One won 34 games in two years in the Bronx. The other averaged 30 home runs over seven years.

Neither Randy Johnsonnor Jason Giambiwon a World Series with the Yankees, which is why neither is viewed in that Paul O'Neill-Scott Brosius "True Yankee" sort of way, whatever the heck that is. Johnson's and Giambi's sin was playing on teams that fell short of winning it all, the Yankees' only goal.

"If you don't win the World Series, it's considered a failing year," said Johnson, who's working near his Livermore roots after signing a one-year, $8 million contract with the Giants. "Those are extremely high expectations. It's not that easy, though. I don't think you should be measured on whether you won a World Series or not because the best team doesn't always win the World Series."

Johnson was a Yankee in 2005 and 2006, Giambi between 2002 and 2008. Last year, the Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time since 1995, and their answer was to hire Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathiaand A.J. Burnettfor a combined $423.5 million.

Will it pay immediate dividends? If not, it'll be a ninth straight year of failure, their last title coming in 2000.

"I loved having that pressure on you," said Giambi, who returned to the A's for a $5.25 million guarantee. "If you're an athlete and really love the game, it's pretty incredible. The expectation level from the media to the fans, it's awesome, an incredible environment to play in. I know some people don't thrive in it, but I enjoyed it."

In Johnson's first year, he won 17 games and went 5-0 against the dreaded Red Sox. Giambi's first year, he hit a game-ending, 14th-inning grand slam to beat the Twins and was fifth in the MVP voting.

Each faded after their first years. Johnson won 17 games again but posted a 5.00 ERA. Giambi had a laundry list of injuries and disorders and at one point played so poorly that the Yankees wanted to send him to the minors. They also looked into voiding his $120 million contract after he admitted in his BALCO testimony to using steroids and human growth hormone.

Giambi went far to win back fans when he apologized (without mentioning "steroids") and again last year when he hit 32 homers and 96 RBIs. In July, the Yankees held Jason Giambi Mustache Day and distributed 20,000 replica mustaches.

"I think I did all right. I had my ups and downs, but I played hard for Yankees fans. I was honest," said Giambi, obviously referring to fessing up to steroid use. "I did all I could for them. David Cone came to me on Mustache Day and said, 'You know what, it's pretty incredible, you got 'em all back.' I'm pretty proud of that."

If it's anything like the 2006 WBC, officials from MLB and the union will brush off the injuries and suggest they weren't related to the international tourney.

"I'm not sure that's the case. It wasn't the case last time," union chief Don Fehrsaid during last week's visit to A's camp. "We didn't have a greater number of injuries coming out of spring training or the WBC (in '06) than we did normally. If somebody pulls a hamstring in a (spring-training exhibition) or pulls a hamstring in the U.S.-Puerto Rico game, it's still a pulled hamstring."

AROUND THE MAJORS: Gary Matthews Jr. seems fine after knee surgery, and the Angels probably would love to move him, though they'd need to eat much of what's left of his five-year, $50 million contract. For now, he's an expensive fifth outfielder, and you can bet he'd drop his no-trade clause for a chance to play elsewhere. . . . Except for one outing, Tim Lincecum has been mostly unhittable in spring training. How about the other Cy Young Award winner? Cliff Lee has an 18.90 ERA in three starts, and opposing hitters are batting .528 off him. . . . The Astros are 1-16, and is that a sign? The worst spring record in the past 25 years belonged to the '85 Pirates, who finished 6-18 (.250). That season, they lost 104 games.